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Pilgrimage to Pak still a challenge Amritsar: Pilgrimage is always a challenge. In Pakistan, there are hundreds of historical gurudwaras and ancient temples, which are held in great reverence by Sikhs and Hindus alike. But the treatment meted out to the Indians still leaves a lot to be desired. Recently a train from Pakistan carrying hundreds of Sikh pilgrims from all over the world arrived at Attari. It was a great occasion for the pilgrims - to celebrate the 536th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev at his place of birth, Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Lahore. According to Pakistani authorities, the attendance this year was the highest ever recorded - 16,000 Sikh pilgrims had come from all over the world. But the fact was that the three-day religious event was marked by seminars and gatherings, a platform for fundamentalists to air their anti-India views. "Khalistan activist, Gurmeet Singh Aulakh raised his voice against the Indian governement and shouted slogans in favour of a free Kashmir to divide India. I felt hurt. I stood up and challenged Aulakh to come to India and raise anti-India slogans there. I told him that it is people like him who misguided the Sikh youth and caused harm to the Sikh community. We also raised slogans - `Hindustan Zindabad'. I am thankful to all the 500 Sikh jatha members who favoured my stand. They also shouted slogans - `Hindustan Zindabad'," said Makhan Singh, Jatha Leader, Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee. Makhan Singh, who also attended several other meetings organised by the Pakistan Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, said he faced a tough time there. "When they approached me to support the Pakistan Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, I opposed it, and said that only the SGPC president had the right to make such decisions. At the meeting, members of WAQF Board made all the arrangements. The PSGPC has no locus standi. The Pakistan Gurudwara Committee has no power to spend any money during such events," added Makhan Singh. A group of 154 Hindu pilgrims who returned home after six days pilgrimage to temples in Katas Raj in Pakistan, complained of having been detained in Lahore for two days. They complained of not being provided with proper foods. Temples, they further said, were in a pitiable condition there. "It was so bad. We went as pilgrims but spent time there as prisoners. Those seven days were like a prison term for us. There was no freedom and we were not even allowed to come out of our rooms. We ate in our rooms," said a devotee.
"At present there is no temple left in Pakistan except a Shiva temple.
There were some 250 ancient temples in Pakistan before India's partition,
and the only Shiva temple left is in a dilapidated condition, which
I can't explain in words," said another devotee. "When we went to the
temple sites we found nothing remaining of it. I will only say that
there are no temples in Pakistan as such. The Pakistan government says
that they have sanctioned money for the development of temples, but
not a single brick has been put. The pond in the temple is very dirty,
but out of strong faith we bathed there. It is hardly a pilgrimage centre.
There is nothing remaining of Hindu temples in Pakistan," he added.
Pilgrimage to Pakistan continues to be a daunting task for the Indian
pilgrims. It s only out of sheer belief and a strong devotion in the
almighty that devotees undertake such pilgrimage, taking head on the
many obstacles in their path. Nankana Sahib: Sikhs carry golden palanquin Wagah
Border: Sikh devotees carried a golden palanquin through the Wagah
border on Tuesday on way to the sanctum sanctorum of the Gurudwara Nankana
Sahib in Pakistan. Made in Tarn Taran, a holy place of the Sikhs in
Punjab, the gold palanquin, estimated to be worth 15 million rupees,
also carried the "Guru Granth Sahib", the revered book of the Sikhs,
from New Delhi's Gurudwara Bangla Sahib shrine. Nankana Sahib is considered
to be birthplace of Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of the Sikh religion.
The palanquin was taken to the other side of the border in a traditional
procession, called 'Nagar Kirtan'. It had been taken through many cities
like Panipat, Ambala and Kurukshetra to enable the devotees to pay obeisance,
before it reached Wagah today. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder
Singh, who led the procession, termed the palanquin journey as a historic
moment, which would further bridge India-Pakistan ties. "It's a historic
moment. We, as Sikh devotees are carrying the golden palanquin from
India to Nankana Sahib. It's good, as this is the time when the Indian
and Pakistani governments are coming together. It's a positive step
and will add to the peace process, " Singh told reporters. The Sikh
community on either side of India-Pakistan border has a rich and common
cultural heritage. Nankana Sahib: Amarinder to place gold palki Amritsar: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will place a gold palki at the Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Lahore on November 30. The palki, worth Rs 1.5 crore, was made in Taran Taaran by Baba Jagtar Singh and Baba Amrik Singh. The Chief Minister would reach Lahore via Wagah Border along with an official delegation and a group of around 12,000 Sikh pilgrims, who would carry the palki in their traditional procession. On reaching Lahore, Singh would be accorded welcome by Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, members of his cabinet and senior officers. After spending the night in Lahore, Singh would fly over to Nankana Sahib by helicopter along with Pervaiz Elahi. From there, Singh would directly reach the Wagah Border and cross over to India the same afternoon. Meanwhile,
according to the Dawn, Elahi, while addressing a Sikh delegation at
Lahore, said that his government had taken solid measures for the protection
and upkeep of the sacred places of Sikhs, who were being provided with
all possible facilities in Nankana Sahib. He said a hospital was being
constructed in Nankana Sahib at a cost of Rs20 million for providing
modern treatment facilities to Sikh pilgrims. Besides, a comprehensive
programme was being implemented for the provision of gas, water and
sewerage facilities in the area. He further stated that Gurudwara Nankana
Sahib had recently been given the status of a district and a dual road
was being constructed from Wagah to Nankana to facilitate Sikh pilgrims.
Other uplift schemes were also being initiated in the area. Katasaraj: Hindu pilgrims discontented Wagah
(Amritsar): Hindu pilgrims who had gone to Katasaraj in Pakistan's
Punjab province for a pilgrimage returned unhappy over the treatment
meted out to them by Pakistani officials. "It was very difficult for
us, we had to eat and drink inside closed doors and the condition of
the temples was also very bad," said Rakesh Arora, a devotee. Shiv Pratap
Bajaj, the jatha leader said that there was very little coordination
between the Pakistan Foreign Ministry and their religious wakf board
because of which these problems occurred. Bajaj said "I have been coming
for my jatha for the last twenty or twenty two years, but this is the
first time I have faced such problems .The condition of the temples
in Katasaraj also upset the pilgrims ." The Katasraj Temples last hogged
newspaper headlines in June this year when Leader of the Opposition,
L.K.Advani visited the premises and called for India and Pakistan to
join hands to ensure its reconstruction and restoration. Informed archaelogical
sources are now working on a report for its reconstruction. The Government
of Pakistan has allocated a certain sum of money from the state exchequer
for this purpose. Sikhs plea to relax visa restrictions Lahore:
The Sikhs have asked the federal government to waive the visa restrictions
for Sikh pilgrims. Most of the community's religious shrines are in
Pakistan. Leaders visiting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kirtarpura,
some kilometres from Narowal, urged the Indian and Pakistan governments
to open rail and road links between the two countries at Jassar, as
well allow them to construct a 100-room residential complex for the
pilgrims at the Gurdwara complex. They said that the Sikh organizations
had the funds available for the project, and only needed a permission
to go ahead with the plan, reports the Dawn. They further demanded that
the Narowal-Muridke Road be made one way to facilitate the pilgrims.
Meanwhile, leaders of a delegation from England have also urged the
Pakistan government to allow construction of a 100-room complex at the
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. They said the Karsava Committee, London, the
Karsava Committee, America, and the Golden Temple would provide funds
for the complex. Sikh Jatha for Pak shrines Amritsar:
Sikh pilgrims are visiting the Nankana Sahib and some other shrines
in Pakistan on the auspicious occasion of Parkash celebrations of Guru
Nanak Dev Sahib. Guru Nanak Dev had founded Sikhism. The devotees have
expressed happiness over their visit to the gurudwaras in Pakistan.
"I am lucky that I am going to visit the gurudwara in Pakistan . It
will be the first time. It was my wish that I should visit the holy
places in Pakistan," said Sukhdev Singh, a devotee. However, Gurpal
Singh Gora, vice-president of Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee
(SGPC) has expressed his disappointment over the fact that most of the
names mentioned by the Committee for the Jatha have been striked off
. "Most names mentioned by Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee
have been striked off. Otherwise, the names mentioned by non- religious
groups are never striked off. The SGPC always takes care and inquires
before sending anyone in the Jatha. But we are really upset that the
names mentioned by the SGPC are always striked off by the Government.
This is done with the intention of letting down the SGPC," Gurpal Singh
Gora regretted. Around 10,000 to 11,000 piligrims are expected to gather
on this occasion from all across the globe. This time 82 names have
been striked off from the list given by the SGPC. Besides Nankana Sahib,
the pilgrims would be visiting Punjab Sahib, Dera Sahib and some other
shrines in Pakistan. Guru Nanak: Sikh women leave for Pakistan Amritsar:
A Forty-two-member delegation of Sikh women from Britain left for
Pakistan from Amritsar on Monday to celebrate the birth anniversary
of Guru Nanak Dev. The Sikh women paid obeisance at the Sri Harmander
Sahib in Amritsar before leaving for Pakistan. They also interacted
with the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti and
SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur who gave them a warm welcome and presented
them a photograph of the Golden Temple. Tejpal Kaur, the leader of the
Sikh jatha, said that she was deeply shocked to see young boys deviating
from the path of religion. "It is not so there in UK. Our children are
more into religious affairs and strongly adhere to the maryada (Sikh
code of conduct)," she said. They univocally blamed the organizations
responsible for preaching and propagating the teachings of Sikhism for
the present deviation from religion and fall in moral values. Without
naming any organization or person, Tejpal Kaur observed that these organizations,
especially the large ones, were actually responsible for the decline
in the religious values, as they had not been judiciously delivering
their duties. Tejpal said that normally they goes to pay obeisance at
all the five takhts but this year they decided to visit Pakistan due
to improving relations between two countries. She informed that they
would be paying obeisance at all the important Gurdwaras of Pakistan
including Dera Sahib, Nanakan Sahib, Punja Sahib, Kartapur Sahib etc.
SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur. who received the NRI Sikh ladies jatha
from UK, appreciated the effort of women to take part in religious affairs
especially living so far away. She also exhorted on the women empowerment
on the guidelines of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak anniversary: 10,000 Sikhs to attend Sheikupura
(Pakistan): About 10,000 Sikhs from all over the world will attend
the 536th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, the founder
of Sikhism, later this month. Celebrations at Nankana Sahib will commence
on November 13 and end on November 16. Sardar Mushtan Singh, the chairman
of the Pakistan Gurdawara Parbhandak Committee (PGPC), said that those
participating in the procession would visit various other gurdawaras
in the province to offer their prayers. According to the Daily Times,
the Punjab provincial government has made foolproof security arrangements
for the event. Tahir Alam Khan, a police officer, said all religious
places and main routes leading to Sheikhupura were under surveillance
of the police and other law enforcement agencies. |
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